Living LINDSEY Living LINDSEY Living LINDSEY Living BUTLER Mini tree diagram

William Francis LINDSEY1,2,3,4

also known as Bill LINDSEY5

3rd Apr 19263,4 - 8th May 20023,3,3

Life History

3rd Apr 1926

Born in Arkansas.3,4

before 1973

Divorced in DeWitt, Arkansas, Arkansas.5

8th May 2002

Died in Conway, Faulkner, Arkansas.3,3,3

Complications during cancer surgery

after 8th May 2002

Buried in Springhill Cemetery, Conway,.1,2

Other facts

 

Married Living BUTLER

 

Birth of daughter Living LINDSEY

 

Birth of daughter Living LINDSEY

 

Birth of daughter Living LINDSEY

Notes

  • William Francis Lindsey-April 3, 1926-May 8, 2002
    Ida Marilyn Butler-February 25, 1938
    Married-9-29-1956
    Divorced in 1972
    --  Tamara Lindsey, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 3 January 2011

    Bill's daughter Tamara Lindsey DeBerry, gave me the place and year of death for her father William Lindsey.  "He died in Conway [Faulkner County, Arkansas] in 2002"  The SSDI reports that Bill's residence at the time of death was Houston, in Perry, County, Arkansas.  He was buried in Springhill Cemetery, Conway.

    Social Security Death Index
    William F. Lindsey
    SSN 432-50-5318
    Last Residence: 72070  Houston, Perry, Arkansas
    Born 3 Apr 1926
    Died 8 May 2002
    State (Year) SSN issued Arkansas (Before 1951)

    U.S. Veterans Gravesites
    William F Lindsey
    Service Info: US ARMY WORLD WAR II, KOREA
    Birth 3 Apr 1926
    Death 8 May 2002
    Burial Springhill Cemetery, Conway, AR 72032

    Bill's daughter Tammy clarifies with this followup.

    "Daddy lived in Houston, AR with his wife when he died at Conway Regional Medical.  They had previously lived in Kosciusko, MS.  He had throat cancer and had surgery.  My uncle told us there were complications during the surgery and he didn't recover."
    --  Tamara Lindsey, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 12 January 2011

    Tammy also tells us that her father was a crop duster and was once burned badly in an accident.

    "Daddy was a crop duster and had a crash which burned him pretty badly.  He was sent to the VA Hospital in Little Rock."
    --  Tamara Lindsey, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 12 January 2011

    A registry of Springhill Ccemetery gives this informaton about Bill.

    William F. LINDSEY
    Spring Hill Cemetery
    Faulkner County, Arkansas
    April 3, 1926 - May 8, 2002
    --  Spring Hill Cemetery, http://arkansasgravestones.org/view.php?id=427637

    ----------------------------------------------
    Friend finds buddy believed killed in WWII alive in Conway
    Reunion never occurs as man dies before pal can arrive
    FRED PETRUCELLI
    Log Cabin Staff Writer
    Published Tuesday, May 14, 2002

    Was it a strange premonition that compelled Ray Wageman to search for an old World War II buddy only to find him alive days before his death?  For some 60 years, Wageman carried a mental picture of William F. Lindsey going down in flames over Germany during a World War II bombing raid.

    "I often wondered if Bill's family ever knew how he had met his death; how he performed so magnificently in the war," Wageman said. "I wanted to tell his family that I was a witness to his crash. I'm sure they would have wanted to know that William Lindsey was very well thought of and respected among all of the 18 enlisted men who resided in this Quonset hut."

    Not too many days ago, the Springfield, Mo., man was rummaging through old boxes of pictures and military citations when he came across a picture of Lindsey. "He was a handsome fellow, tall and blond. He was quiet and reserved and a good airman and excellent gunner. We got along very well, he sleeping in a bunk over me."

    He examined the photos closely and memories of the war and his days as an airman rushed through his mind. He recalled how he grieved over Lindsey's death.

    "I had a premonition that I needed to get in touch with his family and tell them what I had known about Bill," Wageman said. He began a search, armed only with the information from his roster book that listed Lindsey as a resident of Route 3, Conway, Arkansas.

    He searched fruitlessly for days, deciding finally to contact the Log Cabin Democrat for help. This he did in a letter to the editor.

    Sadly, the newsman taking up the search found old friends of Lindsey, who reported that the man was gravely ill at Conway Regional Medical Center and not a casualty of war as Wageman had believed.

    Shocked at finding Lindsey alive but dismayed at the news of his illness, Wageman prepared to visit the hospital to see his old military buddy.

    However, Lindsey's condition deteriorated and he died before the meeting could take place.  "You can imagine how I felt. I had thought he was dead for all these years and suddenly I learn that he is alive. And now he's gone. I don't know what it was that told me to try to find Bill. I'm only sorry I didn't get to the hospital in time," Wageman said.

    He did, however, contact Tom Lindsey of Conway, who provided Wageman with details of his brother's life and his impending death. "I told my brother about Wageman's call but I don't know if he ever heard me, being so sedated," said Tom Lindsey, a Conway contractor.  Wageman, after the war, worked for the FFA for a spell and the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield before spending the rest of his working life with the Springfield News Leader-Press as circulation director.

    He said he told Tom Lindsey about the bombing mission during the war that he thought claimed his friend's life. "We were with the 447th bombardment group on this day -- I believe it was Feb. 15, 1945 -- when we were to drop bombs on Augsburg, Germany. Upon approach to the target, our squadron struck 'prop wash,' as it was called, caused by the effect of a group of B-24 aircraft which crossed in front of our path, causing turbulence. This caused one of the planes to crash into the tail section of another aircraft. The engine of the first plane crashed into the tail section of the second plane and busted off the wing of the first plane. Both planes crashed and we saw no parachutes. It was then that I thought Lindsey, who was a ball turret gunner, went down."

    But Lindsey survived the crash, and also two others that occurred later after he became a pilot and during his days when he operated the Lindsey Flying Service as a crop duster in south Arkansas. In one such crash, Lindsey suffered severe burns necessitating considerable surgery.

    After his service in World War II, Lindsey also took part in the Korean War. He piloted the B-29 bomber which he called a "three-engine plane." Pressed to explain his remark of only three engines on a four-engine B-29, he said jokingly: "One of the engines always never worked."

    In World War II and Korea, Lindsey took part in 50 bombing missions and was unscathed. His luck did not hold during his crop dusting days, when putting down a plane in cotton fields was a fairly frequent occurrence.
    --  Log Cabin Democrat, Conway, Arkansas, Tuesday, 14 May 2002
    ----------------------------------------------

Sources

  • 1. U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006
  • 2. Spring Hill Cemetery (Faulkner County, Arkansas) Registry
    • Location: http://arkansasgravestones.org/view.php?id=427637;
  • 3. Email Sources
  • 4. Social Security Death Index
  • 5. Edith Marie McSwain Jenkins, Personal Knowledge

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